


Time of Children

by court_dancer10



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-23
Updated: 2018-10-23
Packaged: 2019-08-06 11:54:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16387301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/court_dancer10/pseuds/court_dancer10
Summary: Tyler faces a new challenge when his boyfriend mysteriously regresses to a toddler. To make it even worse, Jamie has no recollection of any of them, and wants only Jordie. How is he supposed to explain to an angry, confused toddler that his brother was traded away, to another country?**This story takes place directly after the JoBenn trade**





	Time of Children

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this idea since the JoBenn trade, and just now got the chance to finish it, so keep in mind that this story takes place right after Jordie's trade.

“What the fuck?”

There was a small child, Tyler thinks probably two or three years old, standing in front of Jamie's stall, drowning in a green practice jersey that was threatening to slip off of his small shoulders. 

All of the players in the room were staring at the boy in shock, completely still, obviously clueless about what to do.

“Uh, guys? Who’s kid is that, and why are you all staring at him? And where did Jamie go?” 

The boy's lip started to quiver, and tears quickly leaked out of his big brown eyes.

“Kid? What's wrong?” 

Tyler crouched down to be at eye-level with the child, and sucked in a breath as he finally got a good look at him. He looked eerily like the captain. 

“Where's Jordie? Want Jordie!” 

“Jordie?” Tyler was officially confused..

“Ty… That's Jamie. One second he was fine, getting his skates off, and the next he was tiny. I don't think he knows who we are.”

Tyler looked up at Sharpy, who was trying to remain calm as he explained what happened. 

“Funny joke, jackasses. Who's fucking kid is this and where's Jamie? You've had your laugh, now end it.” 

Tyler was on the brink of seeing red. He knew Sharpy and the guys liked their pranks, but this was taking it too far. To get an innocent child involved? That's where Tyler drew the line. 

“Segs, we aren't fucking with you. This isn't a prank. That's Jamie. Swear on the Cup.”

Tyler gaped at Sharpy. He knew, immediately, that Sharpy wasn't messing around.

“How did this even happen? How does someone just magically turn into a two year old?!”

The kid, Jamie, burst into sobs at Tyler's yelling. 

“Oh shit. Kid? Jamie? It's okay, buddy, I'm sorry I yelled. I won't do it again, yeah?”

“Where's Jordie? I want Jordie! JORDIE!” 

Jamie was becoming more and more frantic and upset, and Tyler had no idea what to do. 

“You gotta calm down, buddy, okay? Just take a deep breath, okay? It's gonna be okay.”

Sharpy mercifully took over for Tyler, rubbing a soothing hand over Jamie’s back and whispering to one of the guys to get him a water bottle.

Jamie glanced tearfully at Sharpy, nodding his head and reaching his hands upward in a silent request to be picked up. 

“Good job, bud. Do you know who I am?” 

Jamie shook his head slowly, his eyes welling back up with tears. 

“Shh, hey, it's okay, no reason to cry. My name is Patrick. Do you want some water? It'll help make you feel better.”

At Jamie's nod, Sharpy handed him the water bottle and turned towards Tyler, who was still crouched down, staring at Sharpy holding the mini Jamie. 

“Jamie, this is my friend Tyler. I'm gonna put you down so you two can hang out for a bit while I call someone, okay?”

“O-okay,” Jamie hiccuped, looking warily down at Tyler.

Sharpy gently lowered Jamie to the ground, giving Tyler a sharp look. 

“I'm gonna go call Darth and see if this has ever happened before. Just try to keep him happy and distracted.”

Sharpy turned on his heel, making his way brusquely to somewhere private.

Tyler couldn't bring himself to do anything other than stare at the tiny version of his boyfriend, who was now staring at Tyler with wide, fearful eyes.

“Where's Jordie? I'm scared, want Jordie. Please?”

Tyler didn't know what to do. How was he supposed to explain to tiny Jamie that Jordie was in a different country? 

“We're trying to call him, bud, I promise. It's gonna be a little bit, though. Do you wanna, uh, play a game or something?” Tyler was floundering, trying to keep the kid happy until Sharpy could come deal with the situation.

Jamie didn't answer, a few tears slipping out of his sad eyes. He stepped towards Tyler, latching his tiny arms around Tyler's neck with surprising force. Tyler was completely out of his element. What was he supposed to do with a kid? Especially a kid asking for his brother who is currently in Montreal. He couldn’t be responsible for a little kid; he could barely keep himself alive, let alone someone completely dependent on a caregiver.

“Where’s Jordie? I want Jordie! Please,” Jamie whimpered into Tyler’s neck, once again on the verge of tears.

Tyler’s heart was breaking. It was bad enough that he had just lost one of his best friends, now his boyfriend was tiny, and apparently had no recollection of anything that had happened in the last few days. How was he supposed to explain to a toddler that Jordie had gotten traded? Mercifully, Sharpy was back before Tyler had to come up with a response.

“Hey, Jamie, you wanna talk to Jordie? He’s on the phone,” Sharpy kneeled next to Jamie, keeping his voice light to avoid spooking the boy.

Jamie nodded, untangling himself from the death grip he had on Tyler to reach for the phone Sharpy was holding out to him

“Jordie? Jordie, ‘m scared, want you,” Jamie was on the verge of tears again.

Tyler couldn’t hear what Jordie was saying, but whatever it was was causing Jamie’s lip to quiver dangerously, tears spilling out of his eyes moments later.

“No! Jordie, no! Want you! Please, Jordie!” Jamie was full on sobbing now, dropping down to sit on the floor.

Tyler glanced at Sharpy, silently pleading with him to do something, anything, to calm Jamie down. Sharpy tried to rub soothingly down Jamie’s back, but was shrugged off with a wail. Jordie was obviously trying to calm Jamie down, but whatever he was saying was doing no good. Jamie was still sobbing miserably, his face turning more and more red by the second. Tyler had no time to brace himself before Jamie was screaming into the phone, loud enough that he wouldn’t be surprised if the entire arena staff came to investigate what was happening.

“NO! NOT STAY HERE! NO, JORDIE! WANT YOU! WANT YOU WANT YOU WANT YOU WANT YOU! NO STAY! NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!” Jamie was livid, more upset than Tyler had ever seen him.

He was shocked when Jamie screeched angrily and threw Sharpy’s phone clear across the locker room, farther than he thought should be possible for a kid that size. Jamie was in full on temper tantrum mode, proceeding to throw himself on the ground and flailing his limbs around wildly. Tyler was shocked, as was the rest of the locker room, if the wide eyes and gaping mouths were anything to go by. 

Sharpy had retrieved his phone, and was passing the phone to Tyler.

“He wants to talk to you.”

“What the fuck did you say to Jamie!” Tyler exploded, stepping away from the tantrum still going on.

“I told him I couldn’t come get him right now. I didn’t think he’d react so bad. What happened, Seggy? How did my little brother turn into a fucking toddler?” Jordie sounded close to tears, obviously upset that Jamie was currently having an epic meltdown.

“I don’t know. I walked in and he was a kid. I knew he was upset about the trade, but I didn’t know this could even fucking happen!” 

“You’ve gotta take care of him, man. I can’t come get him and he can’t come stay with me; I don’t even have my own place yet.”

“I don’t think he’s gonna let any of us take care of him, Jordie. He doesn’t remember any of us and he just keeps asking for you.”

“I know, Segs, but there’s nothing I can do right now. I just got here, I can’t ask to turn around and go back to Dallas, and I can’t bring him here and explain to the team why I suddenly have a kid around. Please, Tyler, just keep him safe and hopefully he’ll be back to normal soon. He’s my baby brother, man. It’s killing me that I can’t be there and that I’m the reason he’s upset. Please.”

Tyler could tell that Jordie had started crying, his voice choking up and faint sniffles coming through the line. He sighed, knowing he had to agree.

“I’m terrified, Jordie. My boyfriend just somehow managed to turn into a little kid, he doesn’t remember me, and I have no idea how to take care of him. What if I fuck him up?”

“It’ll be okay, Ty. Just feed him, make sure he doesn’t drown or cut his fingers off. Hopefully you won’t have to babysit for long.”

“Alright. I gotta go, I think he’s finally wearing himself out. I’ll call you later, okay?”

“Thanks, Tyler. I owe you. Let me know if anything happens. I’ll talk to you later.”

Tyler ended the call, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath before making his way back to where Jamie seemed to have finally worn himself out and had stopped screaming. He was still laying on the floor, rubbing his eyes and sniffling miserably. 

He sat down next to Jamie, being careful not to touch him and set off another screaming fit.

“Hey, buddy, you feel okay?” Tyler wasn’t sure what to say to the kid, but figured that wasn’t a bad place to start.

“No. Want Jordie. Scared.”

Tyler’s heart clenched at the knowledge that Jamie was terrified and there was nothing Tyler could do to fix that. He had to try something, though.

“I know, sweetie. But I talked to Jordie, and he wants me to take care of you, is that okay?”

Jamie eyes him warily, not saying anything. Tyler waited him out, trying not to fidget and make Jamie even more nervous. Finally, after what felt like hours, Jamie nodded and climbed into Tyler’s lap, apparently deciding that he could be trusted. He curled up against Tyler’s chest, getting comfortable. His eyes began to slide closed, and soon enough he was snoring gently. 

\---

Four hours and one screaming fit later, Tyler and Jamie were finally home. Sharpy had gone to the store to get the supplies that Tyler would need while taking care of Jamie, and Tyler had no idea kids needed this much stuff. His entire living room was taken over, bags overflowing with clothes, toys, sippy cups, and various other items that Tyler wasn’t sure he knew what were for. Jamie was mercifully sleeping in the pack ‘n play that Sharpy had gotten, leaving Tyler to figure out how to organize everything.

The team was about to head out for a five day road trip, and management had decided that Jamie should come. Finding someone to watch him on such short notice would be a nightmare, and they wanted him there in case he suddenly re-aged. Now Tyler just had to figure out how to care for a toddler on the road. He didn’t think Jamie was going to let anyone else take care of him. He had tolerated Sharpy for the rest of the afternoon, but clutched Tyler and hid against him if any of the other guys tried to touch him. 

Tyler managed to get everything put away in some semblance of order, and was now faced with the task of packing everything tiny-Jamie might possibly need. How he was supposed to do that when he had no idea what a child needed was beyond him. He sighed and began packing everything he thought would be necessary, unwilling to call one of the guys and get laughed at. If he had to he could run to a store to get anything he had forgotten. 

An hour later, Tyler was finished. He glanced at the clock, seeing he had less than two hours to get himself and Jamie to the airport in time to make their flight, and decided he had time for a quick shower. Jamie didn’t seem to be waking up anytime soon, and Tyler was taking full advantage. He got himself under the hot spray, relaxing for the first time all day. He had no idea how this had happened, but he was positive Jordie being traded was the trigger. There was nothing he could do now besides take care of Jamie as best as he could. 

Finishing up his shower, Tyler dressed quickly and made his way into the living room to get all of the luggage out into the car before waking Jamie up. Once he had everything packed away, he leaned into the pack ‘n play, gently rubbing Jamie’s back to wake him up. The small boy whimpered, burrowing into his blanket and trying to avoid waking up. Tyler smiled softly. This was definitely his Jamie; even as an adult he didn’t want to wake up. 

“Come on, buddy, we’re gonna go on a plane. Doesn’t that sound fun?”

His question was met with a whine and glare.

“Don’t wanna go. No plane. Scary.”

“I know, buddy, but we gotta go, okay?”

“I sit with you?” Jamie asked, staring at Tyler suspiciously.

“Yeah, Jamie, you can sit with me. You can even choose where we sit, how about that?”

Jamie considered before nodding his head hesitantly and reaching his arms up to Tyler. He picked him up, letting Jamie nestle his head against his chest. Tyler got the pack ‘n play put away with one hand, keeping the other firmly wrapped around Jamie. 

“You ready to go?” Tyler asked, looking around to check that he hadn’t forgotten anything.

Jamie nodded, allowing Tyler to buckle him into the carseat once they made it to the car. The trip to the airport was quick and uneventful, but it took Tyler a few minutes to figure out how to get all of the luggage and Jamie safely into the airport. Finally he got everything situated, and in no time they were loading the plane.

Tyler kept his promise and let Jamie choose their seats, following him as he made his careful decision. Finally Jamie plopped down in an aisle seat, leaving Tyler to carefully climb over him to sit next to the window. 

“Ready to buckle up?” Tyler asked the small boy.

“Wanna sit on your lap,” Jamie whispered, the fear making itself apparent on his small face.

“You have to sit in your own seat for now, buddy, but as soon as we can take our seatbelts off you can sit in my lap, okay?”

Jamie obviously wasn’t happy with this, tears beginning to leak from his eyes, but he nodded and allowed Tyler to fasten the seatbelt around him. He latched onto Tyler’s large hand when he was finished, refusing to let go. Take off was horrible, Jamie’s silent tears turning to loud, terrified sobs. As soon as the seatbelt sign went off Tyler pulled Jamie into his lap, rubbing his back and making soothing noises to calm him down. 

It was going to be a long road trip.

\---

Jamie was entirely unimpressed with staying at the hotel. He pouted the entire time the team was getting checked in, and didn’t stop all through dinner. He refused to eat anything Tyler put in front of him, and Tyler was at his wits end. 

“Jamie. Please, bud, you gotta eat something,” Tyler knew it was ridiculous to be pleading with a toddler, but he was past caring.

“NO!” Jamie screamed, full tantrum starting, throwing the food in front of him onto the floor. 

Tyler could feel the eyes of the rest of the team on him, but was at a loss of what to do to calm Jamie down. He was close to tears himself, he couldn’t deal with the rest of the team judging him, too. 

“Hey, Ty, why don’t you head out and go get some rest. I’ll take care of Jamie for a bit, okay?” Sharpy gently suggested.

Tyler nodded, standing up and making his retreat out of the hotel restaurant. He could hear Jamie screaming still, but knew Sharpy would handle it. Making it to his hotel room was a relief. He collapsed into bed, not bothering to even undress. He didn’t know what he was doing anymore. He couldn’t take care of Jamie, that much was obvious. Maybe he should call Jordie and try to convince him to take Jamie. He couldn’t possibly do worse than Tyler was.

He didn’t know how long he laid on his bed, dozing in and out of consciousness, but too soon he heard a knock on his door and heaved himself out of bed to let whoever it was in. He barely had time to swing the door open before Jamie was flinging himself into Tyler’s arms. 

“Tyler! No leave again, no leave, Ty!” Jamie sobbed into Tyler’s neck, arms latched around his neck in a death grip.

Tyler looked at Sharpy in hopes of clarification, but Sharpy merely shrugged at him and waved as he left, leaving Tyler to comfort a still sobbing Jamie.

He sighed, letting the door close and carrying Jamie over to the bed. 

“I’m not gonna leave, Jam. But you gotta calm down. You’re gonna make yourself sick, buddy,” Tyler sat back on the pillows, resting Jamie against his chest and rubbing his back gently. 

Finally Jamie was calm, hand still clutched in Tyler’s shirt but no longer sobbing, at least. Tyler continued rubbing his back, not wanting to risk Jamie getting upset again. Soon, Jamie was fully asleep on Tyler’s chest. As hard as Tyler tried to sleep, his mind wouldn’t stop throwing thought after thought at him. 

He’d barely had time to process everything that was happening, and it was coming back to bite him now. Jordie getting traded was hard on everyone, Jamie especially, but Tyler hadn’t realized just how bad it had gotten. Now he was responsible for a tiny human and had no idea what he was doing. What if Jamie was stuck like this forever? It was bad enough that the team had lost their captain, but if he lost his best friend he wouldn’t know what to do. It would kill him.

He needed a break. It had only been a day and he already felt like he was drowning. He wasn’t responsible enough to deal with caring for a toddler. He could handle dogs, but they were mostly independent. The stress of trying to keep Jamie safe and happy was too much. He had to do it, though. He knew that. Jordie was too far away and Jamie didn’t want anyone else taking care of him, if his freak out with Sharpy was any indication. He’d just have to keep Jamie alive long enough to change back.

\---

The next day was better. Jamie seemed to have calmed down significantly, and was giggling and happy as Tyler chased him down the hallway towards the elevator.

“I’m gonna get you!” 

Jamie shrieked in joy, going as fast as his little legs would take him. Tyler caught up to him, grabbing him around the middle and tossing him in the air. Jamie shrieked again, clapping his hands and demanding to be thrown again, and Tyler, of course, indulged him. 

Jamie was happy the entire morning, allowing his teammates to sit near him and talk to him, even playing with them in the locker room before practice. He stayed happy until after lunch, when he refused to take a nap, even though he desperately needed one.  
“No.” 

“Jamie. Come on, bud, you need a nap.”

“No! I’m a big boy, I don’t need a nap.”

Jamie was standing with his arms crossed, a pout on his face as he stared Tyler down. 

“How about if we take a nap together?”

Jamie looked suspicious, but hesitantly uncrossed his arms and walked towards Tyler, reaching his arms up in a silent request to be picked up. 

“Together? Promise?” Jamie asked, winding his arms around Tyler’s neck.

“Yeah, buddy, together. Promise.”

Jamie nodded, allowing Tyler to carry him to the bed and get them settled in. Jamie slid himself closer to Tyler, fitting himself under Tyler’s arm, head tucked up beneath his chin. He sighed contentedly, falling asleep with his little fists clenched in Tyler’s shirt. 

\---

The game that night was a mess. Tyler couldn’t focus; Jamie had screamed himself hoarse when Tyler handed him off to the trainer, and Tyler couldn’t help but be preoccupied with thoughts of how Jamie was doing. Had he calmed down? Was he still screaming? He felt like a horrible person. He had just left Jamie, hadn’t gone back to calm him down or make sure he was okay. 

Hearing the final buzzer was a relief. Tyler was the first down the tunnel, undressing and showering faster than he ever had before. His only thought was getting to Jamie as soon as possible. He couldn’t hear anything, and he hoped that that was a good sign. 

Jamie was asleep on a couch when Tyler got into the room, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Jamie looked so small and innocent in his slumber, and Tyler couldn’t help but take a minute to just watch him breathe. He hadn’t taken time to really process the whole situation since it happened, and he could feel himself starting to break down. He wanted Jamie back to normal, but it felt like he was betraying little Jamie by admitting that. 

All he could do now was keep Jamie safe and as happy as possible until he turned back. Which meant getting him up and onto the bus so they could get onto the plane and to the next hotel. 

Not wanting to wake Jamie up, Tyler simply scooped him up into his arms, rocking back and forth gently when Jamie started fussing. Once Jamie settled back down, Tyler grabbed the diaper bag and headed out onto the bus, getting them arranged in a pair of seats at the back of the bus.

Jamie, thankfully, slept through the entire bus ride, only waking up when Tyler was getting them settled into their seats on the plane.

“Ty? Ty, where we at?” 

“We’re on the plane, buddy, we’re gonna be at the hotel soon, okay? Why don’t you go back to sleep?”

Jamie shook his head, snuggling further into Tyler’s arms but keeping his big brown eyes wide open. He looked around the plane, watching their teammates who were still standing and moving around. He rejected any attempt of the guys to engage him, seemingly content to sit on Tyler’s lap and observe.

He stayed that way through their flight, clinging to Tyler and completely unwilling to move away from him at all. He made Tyler carry him off the plane and onto the bus, and then into the hotel and to their room. 

“Ty?” Jamie asked sleepily from his spot next to Tyler on the bed.

“Yeah, Jam?”

“Love you.”

Tyler was momentarily frozen, processing what Jamie had said. Just a couple of days ago Jamie had been completely untrusting of him, wanting only Jordie and screaming when anyone else tried to touch him. It was such a quick change, and Tyler couldn’t help but be emotional about it.

“I love you, too, buddy. So much.”

Jamie smiled, snuggling closer and finally falling asleep. It took a while, but Tyler eventually drifting to sleep with the weight of Jamie pressed against him.

\---  
Waking up was not nearly as peaceful. Tyler blinked up at the ceiling from his spot on the ground, trying to figure out how he had ended up on the floor.

“Fuck! Sorry, babe, are you okay?”

And that… That sounded like Jamie. Big Jamie. Maybe he was dreaming? But he could definitely feel the pain from where his arm had collided with the corner of the side table, and wasn’t pain supposed to be something you couldn’t feel in a dream?

“Ty? Are you okay??

That was definitely Jamie. Thank god. He sat up slowly, looking over to see Jamie, fully grown, adult Jamie, staring at him in worry.

“Oh thank god,” Tyler exclaimed, clambering up onto the bed, wrapping his arms around Jamie and just holding on. 

“You were the worst kid, man. All you did was cry and scream. And like, I get why, but please never do that again.”

Jamie chuckled, rubbing Tyler’s back soothingly.

“Promise. Thanks for taking care of me during all that.”

Tyler didn’t reply, just held on even tighter. They sat like that for a long moment, just taking comfort in each other. 

“Jam? You know you can talk to me, right? I don’t want you to hide stuff if you need to talk about things.”

“I know, Ty. I thought I was okay. Honestly. I guess I was just repressing it? I don’t know. But I promise, I know I can talk to you.”

“Good. I love you, Jamie.”

“I love you, too, Ty.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! As always, I love feedback, so feel free to drop a comment!


End file.
